Profile: Devin Booker

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) tries to shoot over Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017, in Phoenix. The Rockets won 142-116.
Ross D. Franklin/AP

Profile: Devin Booker

"They were behind their team 100 percent but they wanted to see history and that’s what they got," Booker said of Celtics fans the night he scored 70 points.
Elise Amendola/AP

Profile: Devin Booker

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) shoots against the Boston Celtics during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game, Friday, March 24, 2017, in Boston. Booker scored 70 points, but the Celtics won 130-120. Booker is just the sixth player in NBA history to score 70 or more points in a game.
Elise Amendola, AP

All were positive developments for the Suns and their fans, unless they have an unhealthy dislike of Drake.

But summer is almost over, and the heaviest work of Booker’s career will soon begin: trying to lift the Suns out of the mucky sediment of the NBA.

Booker’s talent and his new contract demand it.

In corporate jargon, it’s known as a big ask. Booker’s barely old enough to order a cocktail. The Suns haven't won more than 24 games in any of Booker's three seasons. They haven’t been to the playoffs since Booker was 13.

Including Booker, the Suns often looked as young as an AAU team over the past three years, except for the few veterans who were supposed to teach them the ways of the NBA. And maybe how to shave.

Now, those veterans are either gone or have one Nike out the door.

Jared Dudley was traded to the Nets. Tyson Chandler is in the last year of his contract. Trevor Ariza, 33, has a one-year deal.

Leadership roles on the team are shifting – as they should after nearly a decade of bad basketball – and Booker needs to call “next.”

It’s not an easy thing to do, and it’s uncomfortable for some people.

As the Cardinals beat writer, I witnessed safety Adrian Wilson balk at that notion as a young player, saying he wasn’t responsible for getting anyone other than No. 24, himself, ready to play.

Receiver Larry Fitzgerald felt the same way in his early days.

Both, however, came to realize some of their teammates weren’t wired the same way. They needed to be pushed, prodded, shamed and praised, sometimes all in the same day.

Great leaders realize this.

It’s why Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers recently called out his young receivers for a “piss-poor” practice. It’s why former Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner once asked a young Fitzgerald what was more important, statistics or winning? It’s why Michael Jordan routinely made life unpleasant for teammates. It’s why a parent asking “is this the best you can do?” cuts deeper than any punishment.

Booker’s only 21, but he’s entering his fourth season and needs to set a standard for players such as Deandre Ayton and Josh Jackson to follow.

On the court, Booker no doubt will continue to improve. His scoring average has increased from 14 to 22 to 25 during his career, so it’s likely to edge higher.

That scoring ability earned him a place in a song by Travis Scott. Drake is featured in the song “Sicko Mode” and sings/raps “shots that I took, wet like I’m Book.”

This is a good thing, the kids tell me, but the Suns are paying Booker for more than points and field-goal percentage.

Anecdotally, Booker has provided signs this summer that he realizes this. We can give them some credence because they weren’t produced by Booker to remind us that he’s a professional athlete working hard in the offseason with the the hashtag #riseandgrind.

Video of Booker during strength and conditioning workouts have surfaced. People who have seen him up close say he appears to have added muscle. And then there were the video clips of Booker going one-on-one against Kevin Durant and Paul George after a national team practice.

Booker’s long-sleeved shirt is darkened with sweat as he defends Durant, who is nearly six inches taller, and George, who is a bit taller and seven years older.

Booker holds his own against both and clearly is relishing the challenge.

Now, a greater one awaits: motivating and holding his Suns teammates to a standard that will result in something better than what we’ve seen from them the past three years.

It’s a lot to ask of a 21-year-old. But we all have to grow up some time.